Hello and welcome to Weekend Coffee Share #24! I’m glad you’re here. Please come on in, help yourself to a cup of coffee, or tea, or hot chocolate at my coffee station and let’s chat.
It’s been a good week with lots of sunshine and pleasant temperatures. Much needed rain came and gone on Monday afternoon. Over the years, the original City of Toronto had a total of four City Halls. On one of my cycling and walking excursions, I visited all of them, plus a historic courthouse.
1. St. Lawrence Hall
Toronto’s first City Hall: From the time of the City’s incorporation in 1834 until early in 1845, the Council met in a building at King and Jarvis Streets. The building was destroyed by the Great Fire in 1849. Following the fire, architect William Thomas designed St. Lawrence Hall in the Renaissance Revival style in 1850. It stands on the site today and was designated a National Historic Site in 1967.
History 
St. Lawrence Hall main entrance
2. South St. Lawrence Market
Toronto’s second City Hall: From 1845 to 1899, the seat of City government was located at Front and Jarvis Streets, in the South St. Lawrence Market. The City’s Market Gallery now occupies the 19th century City Council Chamber on the second floor of the Market.
3. Adelaide Court
Adelaide Court was designed by the firm of Cumberland and Ridout and built in 1851-1852 in the Greek Revival style. It served as York County Court House from 1852 until 1900, when the courts moved to “Old” City Hall. It currently houses Terroni restaurant.
4. Old City Hall
Toronto’s third City Hall, known as Old City Hall, was designed by Toronto architect Edward James Lennox. It took more than a decade to build and was officially opened on September 18, 1899. The civic building in the Romanesque Revival style contained a Council Chamber, courtrooms and municipal offices.
Clock Tower 
Gargoyles watch over Old City Hall
East side with City Hall words above the big arch 
West side with Court House words above the big arch
History 
Carvings of humans and flowers 
Carving of a lion 
Lamps
Old City Hall at 60 Queen Street West was the home of the Toronto City Council from 1899 to 1966 and was designated a National Historic Site in 1984. When Toronto’s fourth City Hall opened in 1965, Old City Hall became a Provincial courthouse.
5. Toronto City Hall
Toronto’s fourth and current City Hall at 100 Queen Street West was designed by Finnish architect, Viljo Revell. His design was divided into three main parts: The podium, the convex circular council chamber and two office towers of differing heights. The building was opened on September 13, 1965.
On September 13, 2020, Toronto City Hall turns 55 years young. This virtual tour highlights its history and many features of the building, including a peek into the Mayor’s Office and views from the 27th Floor Observation Deck.
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Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve had the pleasure to see the interiors of all of the above buildings. During the pandemic, St. Lawrence Market is opened with public health protocols in place. The other four buildings are closed to the public. I look forward to their re-opening day.
Linked to #ThursdayDoors, #LifeThisWeek.
How well do you know your municipal buildings and their history? I’d love to hear your comments.
Copyright © 2023 natalietheexplorer.home.blog – All rights reserved.
Natalie the Explorer 
Hi Natalie, that was a most interesting tour. We here in Australia have some buildings that are heritage listed but in terms of architecture from the times of white settlement, we seem to want to tear ‘old’ down and replace with new. But…I do have some heritage places I have visited in Sydney. One is the Sydney Opera House. When our family moved to Sydney from a regional area I was 10…1959, the grounds for what would be the site of the Opera House were old shipping terminals and the land was very special. A Danish architect won the prize to fulfill the brief that was to be what we now see as the Sydney Opera House but he ran into myriad of problems with the public servants and government of the day. So I grew into teen years and beyond seeing this building go up and it took so much time. It was officially opened in 1973 or 4 by Queen Elizabeth. I have been to concerts, TEDx events and more at The Sydney Opera House. One special moment was in 1989, when our daughter sang solo with her school jazz band to a packed concert hall. Thanks for the link up…I will be back to comment on others over the weekend.
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Hi Denyse, Such fantastic memories that you have with the iconic Sydney Opera House, especially when your daughter sang solo there in 1989. You must be so proud of her. Thank you for linking up. Have a great weekend!
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All of the shapes of patterns and decor captured in those images are so lovely and very attractive.
Thank you for linking up for #LifeThisWeek. Next week, we reach the midway point of the link up with Optional Prompt: 26/51 Optimism. Mr W is back with this one! It’s always great to see your post and comments, I appreciate that very much. Denyse.
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Thank you, Denyse, for hosting. Have a wonderful week!
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Good tour, Toronto is a beautiful city
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Thank you, Alice. I think Toronto is photogenic and there are lots to photograph in the city.
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Thanks for the tour, Natalie! My office building is sandwiched between city hall and the court house. They aren’t nearly as magnificent as these!
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Jill, Your office building must have some significant history based on its location, sandwiched between two important buildings.
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Yes, it’s the historic courthouse and it’s been remodeled. It was built in 1925. 😉
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I hope the remodeling has brought modern conveniences and energy efficiency to make your office more comfortable 🙂
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I love the older versions of City Hall. St. Lawrence Hall is a magnificent building, I’d love to see inside. Old City Hall looks so strong, sandwiched in between the other buildings. It looks like it could push them aside. The new version is beautiful, but not as inspiring as the older two. It’s amazing that you have three still standing to visit. I hope you get to visit inside (and I hope you will share photos with us). Have a great weekend, Natalie.
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Dan, I consider myself lucky to have visited these buildings, especially the older ones. St. Lawrence Hall has a grand room (aka Great Hall) on the 3rd floor where special events are held. The room is beautiful with chandeliers, high ceilings, old-style moldings, etc. Old City Hall is a magnificent building with amazing vista from the clock tower. There’s great history inside out at that building. Thank you for hosting Thursday Doors. Have a great weekend!
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Some great and imposing buildings Natalie – both the heritage type ones and the modern version. Thanks for sharing them and for hosting another great party.
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Thank you, Leanne, for linking up. I read your blog post and no, the Proverbs 31 woman and I would not be BFFs. Have a great week!
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That Old City Hall is a beautiful building, I’m glad it’s been preserved and put to good use 🙂
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Yes, Old City Hall is beautiful with many intricate details in its design. It’s still functioning as a courthouse. The Police entrance is at the back of the building 🙂
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Old City Hall is my favourite and I’ve done the tour inside. Getting inside St. Lawrence Hall is on my list.
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St. Lawrence Hall interiors are interesting. The Great Hall on the 3rd floor is beautiful when it’s set up for special events.
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These buildings are beautiful, each in its own way, of course. The names of the buildings are what call to me. The names seem evocative of simpler times. Lovely photos. Happy Weekend.
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Yes, simpler times when a market is called a market, etc. I’m glad you liked these buildings. Happy weekend, Ally!
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Interesting about the City Halls, Natalie. Victoria area is broken up into many districts and often a bone of contention around here. Wonderful photos of the City Halls. Challenging to depict a large structure in a photo. A great shame when a historic building burns down. I am in awe of the intricate carvings such as the humans and flowers. I have family that still works in the Toronto City Hall. And, yes, yay to reopening days. A great post, as always, Natalie!
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Erica/ Erika, I remember Victoria City Hall because I stayed on the same street when I was in Victoria. It’s also a National Historic Site. Toronto’s Old City Hall is an impressive building with interesting history about its design and construction. The carvings are amazing. I take all photos with my phone camera so there are limits to what I can do but I’m glad you liked them. Have a wonderful weekend!
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The architectural elements in your photos conjure memories of a Chicago city walking tour I did a few years back. At first glance, I actually thought this was Chicago. Love the gargoyle photo!
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Thank you, Denny, for your comment. I try to remember to look up when I visit buildings. I’m glad you liked the gargoyle photo. Chicago has interesting architecture, too. I enjoyed the river boat architectural tour when I was there.
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Nice! Glad you know Chicago too.
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Oh my goodness, those old buildings are incredible. WOW! I like the older ones much better than the newer version….lol. So stunning. Thank you for always sharing these amazing photos. I love the stories and history you share as well
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Kirstin, I’m glad you like the history and photos that I share. I enjoy visiting historic buildings and taking photos.
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The old buildings are my favorites and I’m so happy that they were maintained and re-purposed. So often, the old is destroyed for the new (and the older I get, the more I resent that 🙂 ).
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LOL when I read your comment in brackets. I’m glad Toronto has preserved some of the older buildings and repurposed them, too.
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It’s so sad that expense of creating new work-of-art buildings leaves us with sky scrapers rather than modern masterpiece buildings. Toronto has a rich collection of the truly great stuff to enjoy.
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I’m glad Toronto has preserved some of the older buildings and repurposed them. History comes alive when I visit these buildings.
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Oh my what wonderful architecture! Love that old city hall entrance!
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Yes, those arches are solid and impressive.
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Amazing Architecture! YOu have a fantastic eye for the local beauty. Thanks for the tour.
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Thank you, Antoinette, for your compliment. I’m glad you liked the virtual tour.
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Beautiful buildings! I love the woodwork in old buildings. Thanks for sharing 💜
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Welcome back, Dinah. I’m glad you liked these buildings.
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Yet again, thank you for a wonderful virtual tour of Toronto. I really look forward to these posts each week!
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Thank you for joining me on the virtual tour and commenting. I greatly appreciate it.
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My favorite is the Old City hall; what a fun “tour” of all the city halls.
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Excellent choice, Joanne! Old City Hall is an impressive building. It was easy to bike and walk to these five buildings as they’re within walking distance from one another.
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Some very interesting architecture on these old buildings. You got some good shots of them and their details.
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Thank you, Susan, for your comment. I used my phone camera to take these photos. The close-ups are easy to do.
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Yes, I’m back…not that I’ve been anywhere, just on an (unannounced unofficial) blog break. Love the history and the stories here – and those arches. I think my fave of the city halls is the market hall. Thanks for another lovely walk around Toronto. Now I need to make a cup of tea and sit down.
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Welcome back, Jo. I figured you were busy and needed a blogging break. The South St Lawrence Market is a fabulous place with all sorts of freshly baked goodies, produce, cheeses, meat, etc. Enjoy your cuppa. Have a great weekend!
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Thanks Natalie…
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I love the elegant architecture of Toronto.
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I’m glad you liked the architecture that I shared.
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Hi Natalie, fascinating history. We have an Adelaide city here in Australia! It’s amazing how much detail went into the carvings on those old buildings. It’s lovely. Have a lovely weekend, regards Christina
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Hi Christina, The carvings on Old City Hall are amazing to see IRL. I’d love to visit Australia one day, including the city of Adelaide. Happy weekend!
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I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again, you will never get bored in a city like Toronto! There is so much to see and do, even during a pandemic. Lovely buildings, Natalie! How did you discover Toronto had so many (old) city halls?
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I agree, Liesbet. Lots to see and do in Toronto. I barely scratched the surface and I’m out exploring most days! I started with Adelaide Courthouse because I was thinking of the Italian Terroni restaurant (great food!). I had dinner there long before the pandemic. When I read that the courts were moved from Adelaide Street to Toronto City Hall, I looked up to see which City Hall. I’m familiar with these buildings as I bike or walk by them frequently and have been inside all of them. I pieced the four city halls by year and verified with City’s archives. It was fun like doing a puzzle.
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Hi, Natalie – I’ve been loving your tours of distinct Toronto buildings.
You have been making me very nostalgic…and homesick! 😀
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Hi Donna, I’m glad you like my virtual tours. Perhaps a visit to Toronto would cure the homesickness… 🙂
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I really like the St Lawrence hall and the one with a Roman style – the latter has lots of interesting details, that’s the sort of building that I like. I tried to find information about our town hall but couldn’t find any – I only found articles about the old town hall building that was demolished in 2019.
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Susanne, That’s too bad that your old town hall was demolished. Although some old buildings cost more to maintain than to demolish and build new, some old buildings are worth keeping for their historic values.
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Yes, I usually agree but this building was in ruins and not even beautiful, it wouldn’t really add any cultural/historical value to keep it, as I see it.. You can see it here: https://www.corkindependent.com/2019/07/18/demolition-plans-for-town-hall/
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I see. Thank you for the link.
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Thank you for giving all of us a virtual tour of Toronto every week, Natalie. Keep exploring 🙂
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Thank you, Moumita, for following along. I enjoy exploring and blogging so to be able to do both is a real treat.
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Cool tour of the city halls. A lot of old architecture in Toronto! There is, of course, a lot of even older architecture in Boston where I am now (well, the closest big city), but I don’t know how much still survives in Cleveland, where I grew up (again, closest big city). I hope you had a good week and have a wonderful weekend!
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Trent, It’s great that many old and historic buildings are preserved in Boston. I like Boston and visited the city a few times before the pandemic. Many old and historic buildings in Toronto were burned down by the two great fires in 1849 and 1904. Have a wonderful weekend!
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I do love, and miss, Toronto’s architecture! Thanks for the virtual coffee Natalie.
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Yes, Toronto does have some nice architecture. Thank you, Shari, for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Such lovely photos and buildings! I hope you are well. -Pamela
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Thank you, Pam, for your comment. I’m well. I hope you’re well, too. Have a nice weekend!
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All the City Halls are interesting but I think I like Adelaide Court the best. Maybe it’s the lighting in the photo but I think that building is pretty.
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I like Adelaide Court architectural style, too. I had dinner inside that building before the pandemic. The interiors with high ceilings and columns were beautiful. The food (Italian by Terroni restaurant) was very good. The restaurant was popular and packed with diners. Indoor dining is scheduled to resume here at the end of July so I hope Terroni will re-open then.
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Those are some beautiful buildings and I love the histories of them. I did a couple of blogs on San Francisco City Hall and I did a blog on Oakland’s City Hall. Here in Hayward, our City Hall has no charm at all. They had a temp City Hall for a long while because they the City Hall they built in the 70’s was damaged in the 1989 Earthquake here and couldn’t be salvaged, so it sat empty (well, squatters moved in) until they tore it down a couple of years ago.
Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
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San Francisco and Oakland City Halls look impressive. Were you able to visit their interiors? Thank you for linking with #weekendcoffeeshare.
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Oakland- https://csuhpat1.blogspot.com/2016/01/oaklands-city-hall.html
San Francisco- https://csuhpat1.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-peek-inside-san-francisco-city-hall.html
This is one I did and I got the section of SF City Hall that was blocked off when I first was there:
https://csuhpat1.blogspot.com/2018/12/happy-new-year-2019.html
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Well done! Thank you, Patrick, for the links to your blogs.
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It looks like you will never run out of wonderful buildings and sites to share in Toronto. There’s such a huge difference between #3 and 4 in style. The first three look very English influenced. The last one is more American skyscraper style. Keep up with the wonderful Toronto lessons. 🙂
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Marsha, Lots to see and photograph in Toronto for sure. I’m enjoying tracing the city’s history and visiting surviving buildings. I just saw your new and terrific PPAC with Cee’s. Congrats! I’m sure you’ll get a huge response.
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So far so good. Thanks for joining in!
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You’re welcome. It’s a terrific challenge.
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Glad you like it, Natalie. It has YOU written all over it. 🙂
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Lol…I also like that your PPAC is on Friday which is one of my blogging days.
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I do too, I can add it right to your link.
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A lot of different architecture there. I prefer small towns and modern ones at that. There aren’t too many of the old towns left around here.
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I like that modern towns usually have modern conveniences and they make day-to-day living comfortable.
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Hi Natalie,
What history and beautiful buildings that have been saved throughout the years. I bet they are even more beautiful inside! Treasures really, and am thankful you are there to capture thru photos and share with us your beautiful city! Have a wonderful weekend! ❤️
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Hi Diana, I agree these buildings are treasures. I’m glad some of the older buildings are preserved. When I visit them, they make history come alive. Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful Sunday!
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Such fantastic buildings! I love that you know the history of these. Thanks for the tour
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Sanch, I’m glad you liked these buildings. It’s fun for me to trace Toronto’s history and get to see some of the surviving structures.
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Last time I was in Toronto, I was 14. Thanks for the reminder.
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Lale, Welcome to my blog and thank you for your comment. I hope your visit to Toronto was a good one. May I ask how you found my blog?
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Thanks for sharing such interesting information about the different Toronto City Halls. Are you still in lockdown in Toronto? We’ll be almost completely moving out of lockdown here in the Netherlands come June 26. Have a nice week ahead.
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You’re welcome, Astrid. We started reopening on June 11, at Step 1 or our 3-step reopening plan. If all goes well, step 2 is on July 2, and step 3 on July 23. In step 1, we can eat outdoors at restaurant patios up to 4 people per table, have outdoor gatherings for up to 10 people, and shop in non-essential stores at 15% capacity. Have a great week!
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They really made them ornate back then! One of our court houses is in an old department store building and even that is pretty fabulous! It traded between 1885 and 1980. #Lifethisweek
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It’s interesting to see how the architecture has changed over the centuries and learn about the stories each building carries.
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Spectacular architecture and history, Natalie. An older, established city like Toronto must have so much of this. It’s a shame when modern architecture replaces or overshadows the old. Thank goodness for historical landmarks and groups that advocate for keeping the integrity of these amazing buildings! Have a great week!
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Thank you, Terri, for your comment. Toronto has some surviving old buildings. I enjoy learning about their history and try to visit to photograph as many of them as possible. Have a wonderful week!
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Hi Natalie, as usual you have captured your theme perfectly and I do love heritage buildings. It is lovely to see these buildings maintained. Thanks for the tour. I’ve not made Weekend Coffee Share for a couple of weeks but hope to return soon. I’m visiting from #lifethisweek. x
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Hi Sue, It’s great to hear from you. I just listened to your latest podcast. I’m glad you love heritage buildings. You’re welcome to join Weekend Coffee Share any week. Have a wonderful week!
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Such gorgeous buildings Natalie. I love the old heritage buildings. Thanks for the virtual tour! xo
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Min, I’m glad you like the old heritage buildings. Thank you for linking with #weekendcoffeeshare.
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Glad to hear that the weather afforded good cycling & walking time!
4 City Halls?!!!! Wow! And such lovely, historic buildings as well. As always, a pleasure to tour with you!
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Ju-Lyn, Over here spring has been great. The long range forecast calls for a warmer than normal summer. We’ll see how it unfolds. The 4 City Halls are from 1834 to present. Thank you for joining my virtual tour.
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I guess warmer weather means more time outdoors for you?
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Yes, I look forward to spending some time paddling around the Toronto islands. Last summer I did that from June to September.
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Woohoo! In a canoe?
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Yes, in a canoe, a kayak and on stand up paddling (SUP) board.
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Wow! That’s a wide range of paddling options! Did you have to specially learn to use all of them (particularly the SUP board)?
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I took one group lesson for each of the three paddling activities a while ago when I first started paddling. The SUP board is the simplest. I’d recommend taking at least one introductory lesson from an experienced instructor before paddling on a big body of water like Lake Ontario.
I learned about water safety, how to carry the board/ canoe/ kayak, how to load the vessel safely, paddling strokes, how to call for help or get yourself back onto the board or into the canoe/ kayak if you get capsized, etc.
Paddling is a lot of fun. if you do a search for canoeing, or kayaking or stand up paddling on my blog, my posts from last summer should show up. Is recreational paddling popular in Singapore?
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Sea sports, in general, is popular in Singapore. And I’ve seen canoes, kayaks and SUPs scattered around our popular water sports areas.
Apart from a stint windsurfing & diving decades ago in my 20s, I haven’t really participated in water sports since. Now that we are having this conversation, I’m not quite sure why I stopped.
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The current one is very interesting — very 60s. It almost reminds me of my local hospital (https://images.app.goo.gl/gASENjvW1tU6fbYr5) — interestingly enough it was also made in the 60s.
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Thank you, Julie, for sharing your hospital images. It seems every decade has trends that characterize them, not only in architecture, but also in music, fashions, etc.
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Missed this week. Power went out Friday in storms, came on sometime yesterday while we were away for Father’s day.
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Thank you, Bear, for stopping by. I hope to see you at the upcoming weekend coffee share.
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There is a post up on my page just not label ed as such.
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Thank you for letting me know.
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Someday I am going to get my act together and get by to link up with you again. Can’t seem to get caught up and stay caught up on blog reading.
Oh, these photos, Natalie!! My favorite is the one with the Freedom arches in the foreground and old city hall in the background. Really stellar shot!! El Paso is just developing a cityscape with a handful of taller buildings. I hesitate to say sky scrappers as they are only 10-12 stories high, I would guess. And we don’t have the interesting contrast in old and new architecture that you find in Toronto. Thank you for sharing.
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Hi Leslie, Blogging is certainly time-consuming. I’ve scaled back on my participation in blog link-ups and blog challenges to spend more time outdoors this summer.
I’m glad you like the photo with the Old City Hall behind the Freedom arches. I was hoping it shows the beauty of both structures. Thank you for stopping by. Have a great week!
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Hi again Natalie, I have chosen this post to link to your name in the June Story Chat attendance roster that comes out in the Summary post today. I love all your Toronto history lessons. 🙂
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Thank you, Marsha. I’m thrilled you chose this post. Happy Tuesday!
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Happy Tuesday, to you, too, Natalie.
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Just got home from disc golf and a bicycle ride. It’s a beautiful morning here. Now off to make lunch 🙂
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How fun! Did you do well at disc golf? I’m off to make lunch, too. 🙂
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It was my practice game and I did well 🙂
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Yay, GO NATALIE! 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
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Natalie, thanks for the tour of Toronto’s city halls. Toronto is such an interesting city, and you have far more older buildings than we do out west.
Jude
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Jude, I enjoy tracing Toronto’s history and visiting the surviving buildings. Thank you for stopping by. I hope you’re staying well, enjoying the summer, and are not directly affected by the smokes or wildfires in BC.
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